The complaints about the officiating in the NBA this season by some of its brightest offensive stars have ranged on the sauciness scale from subtle (James Harden) to sledgehammer (Damian Lillard).
And if you pay close attention to the Association, you get why that’s the case. Rules changes implemented over the summer geared toward making life a little more fair for defenses, and a noticeable emphasis by the refs to “let ‘em play" way more than we’re used to, have made a big impact a month into the season. The game looks and feels different compared to previous campaigns and the stats—like the decreased number of FT attempts per game, fewer fouls per game, and lower offensive efficiency rates—hammer that home.
Dynamos like Harden and Lillard hate it. This current iteration of NBA basketball feels foreign to them compared to the conditions they’re used to thriving under. And when they’re not complaining on the court to the refs, they’re struggling to stay silent about their vexation off it.
“The way the game is being officiated is unacceptable,” Lillard said after the Blazers loss to the Clippers earlier this week. “I don’t want to go too deep into it so they make a big deal out of it, but the explanations that’s getting missed, I mean, come on. I felt like coming in, the rule change wouldn’t affect me, because I don’t do the trick the referees. I don’t do the trick plays. It’s just unacceptable.”
Frustrations are to be expected when superstars must adjust to new circumstances, but unlike Lillard and some of his NBA brethren, I’m here to say what we’re seeing this season—more physicality, the elimination of the ridiculous offense-initiated fouls, and fewer trips to the free throw line—is awesome, greatly appreciated, and a welcome return to a more balanced brand of basketball that had sorely been missing.
If you’re not loving the more free-flowing game we’re seeing this season, I respectfully ask: What are you smoking? The changes the league implemented—namely no longer calling fouls for, as the NBA described it, “abnormal, abrupt, or overt non basketball moves by offensive players”—were necessary. What was fun about watching games over the past few seasons expecting to hear a whistle every other possession? Who wants to watch one player go to the free throw line 25 times a game because they’re ultra crafty? Who wants to see somebody rewarded because they’re good at snapping their head back driving to the hole? Who wants to see a 3-point shooter get rewarded with three free throws for sloppily throwing his body into a leaning defender and launching a shot that has zero chance of going in? That doesn’t make for good entertainment, which is all the NBA really is if you boil it down. Those plays only detract from basketball’s beauty. Count your blessing that those garbage fouls are gloriously gone from the game.
“Overall the quality of the game is much, much better and the league should be commended for that,” says NBA TV analyst Greg Anthony. “And I gotta tell you, the officials have done a helluva job with how they have interpreted the new changes with the rules.”
“Yeah, they’re not getting calls that they used to. But nobody is. That’s the point. It’s not like they’re specifically targeting certain players.” — NBA TV analyst Greg Anthony
Players like Harden, Lillard, and more than a few others would probably disagree. The Beard may be one of the most brilliant offensive players in the history of basketball, but the start of his 2021-22 season has been a bit of a struggle and he hasn’t been able to hide his frustration over the lack of calls he feels he should be receiving. Still working his way back into tip-top shape after that hamstring injury he suffered in the playoffs, Harden’s been pleading his case with officials, wondering why the calls he previously racked up—like when he’d hook his arms with a defender while driving to the basket, aka a Harden Special—are no longer fouls and why the refs are largely swallowing their whistles. Some will argue one of the things Harden is most famous for is incredibly clever. Why shouldn’t he instead be rewarded for that?
“You’re penalizing the offense because the defense isn’t smart enough,” says retired three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas. “It might take players two seasons to adjust. Remember, they spent the last handful of seasons playing a different kind of basketball.”
After the Nets lost to the Bulls Monday, Harden was asked about the lack of calls against him. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said. For someone who was used to going to the free throw line 10.4 times per game during his 10 years in Houston, it’s been a comedown only getting there 4.7 times per game so far this season. But that’s been the case with everybody. The league average for free throw attempts per team entering Friday night’s action was 19.9 a game, way down compared to the last normal season (2018-19) when the average per team was 23.1 attempts a game. The number of personal fouls per game per team this season (19.0) is down slightly from last season’s number (19.3).
“Yeah, they’re not getting calls that they used to. But nobody is. That’s the point,” says Anthony. “It’s not like they’re specifically targeting certain players. I watched James Harden play [Wednesday] and he was still James Harden.”
Harden will be just fine. So will Lillard. So will every other baller bemoaning the lack of calls. Eventually they’ll adjust. They may even figure out a few loopholes. Meanwhile, I—and many others, but maybe not Arenas—will continue to enjoy the games way more now that the NBA has successfully altered the rule book.
“Can I say how satisfying it is to watch the game without all those terrible calls,” Draymond Green, the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year, said after the Warriors win over the Thunder two weeks ago. “Guys cheating the game and grabbing guys and getting the foul. I’ve been really enjoying watching basketball this year.”
So here’s an official toast to the death of those dumb and completely ridiculous fouls that have mercifully been weeded out of the game. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who was sick of seeing offense explode thanks to rules so clearly in favor of one side of the ball it felt unfair. We’ve seen the 10 best offensive ratings in NBA history come courtesy of teams that suited up the past three seasons, yet the league average offensive rating per 100 possessions is 4.7 points lower this season compared to last. The tricks are gone. Physicality and contact have returned. Welcome back, balanced basketball. It’s beautiful to see.
